At the center of the Republican reconciliation bill that the U.S. Senate just sent back to the House is a renewal of President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was originally set to expire at the end of this fiscal year. Republicans have been working graveyard shifts to force a vote before the July 4th holiday to lock in even bigger tax breaks for the wealthiest five percent of Americans for the next 10 years.
To pay for this, as well as increases in immigration enforcement operations, congressional Republicans are proposing an historic $1.7 trillion in cuts to healthcare, food assistance, and clean energy jobs. If the bill passes, at least 17 million Americans will lose their Medicaid coverage, and hundreds of assisted living facilities and rural hospitals could be forced to close.
Against the interest of large percentages of their constituents who depend on these services and oppose these cuts, Republicans are proposing to cut at least $800 billion from Medicaid, $300 billion from SNAP food assistance, and hundreds of billions more from clean energy investments and tax credits, which will raise electricity bills in every state.
These massive cuts to popular federal programs also mean more of the costs will be shifted to states. This could further upend state budgets that include billions in annual federal contributions for healthcare, education, and food assistance they receive in normal budget years and force states to scramble to shift funds to cover a higher state contribution for these programs. In states that are facing budget shortfalls and are unable to backfill funding, local governments will have to reduce or eliminate services altogether.
By many accounts, including an assessment from the Congressional Budget Office and a statement from North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, the groups who will specifically pay more to cover these handouts are the most vulnerable Americans, including those on fixed incomes, seniors, children, people on disability, and the unemployed. This disastrous bill would also leave all Americans and their children on the hook for $5 trillion in new national debt, plus interest. If the bill passes, we will also begin paying a higher percentage of our income on out-of-pocket costs for basic necessities including food, healthcare, credit card interest rates, and utilities.
Republicans also want Americans to forgo investments in clean energy during a critical window that scientists warn represents our last chance to reduce emissions that are needed to stabilize global temperatures. The bill specifically targets supply chains for zero emission technologies and for renewable wind and solar energy by adding eligibility requirements and accelerating project deadlines that will be impossible to meet. The Republican proposal also eliminates tax credits for individual consumers at the end of the 2025 fiscal year and eliminates any grant funding for IRA programs that remains unobligated.
To further appease wealthy fossil fuel donors, Republicans are also creating favorable leasing and permitting conditions for oil, gas, and coal. This is what really motivates the “Energy Dominance” agenda: slowing the deployment of cleaner alternatives that pose a threat to oil and gas now that those alternatives are cheaper than fossil fuels, even if the benefit to fossil fuel industry is marginal: in reality, the industry would not like the oil market flooded with more supply and prices of oil and gas drop.
The Republican proposal is also tragically short-sighted. Billions, if not trillions, of dollars of public and private capital have already been invested in clean energy operations and jobs, especially in conservative states. Eliminating these projects would render those initial down payments and investments ineffective.
Math is not the only thing not adding up in the Republican proposal. The plan is also riddled with contradictions that show how this morally bankrupt bill sells out our clean energy future. Alongside provisions that decimate investments in renewable energy infrastructure, manufacturing, and technologies are others that preserve and increase “45Q” tax credits for carbon capture and storage — a false climate “solution” that has always been a cover for handouts to the fossil fuel industry. Another example was a provision that attempted to prohibit states from regulating AI data centers for 10 years, which was removed from the version of the bill passed by the senate by a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.
Despite minor changes made to the Senate version in the “Byrd Bath” and vote-a-rama process, in which most notably a provision that would have mandated the sale of public lands was withdrawn, the approved bill still guts investments in the deployment of clean energy and is still the worst bill for the environment and the climate in history. It leaves states and communities — including developers interested in building AI data centers — dependent on dirtier and more expensive new fossil fuel infrastructure to meet growing energy demands.
The stakes have never been higher as the reconciliation bill makes its way back to the House for negotiation and final approval. Republican members of the House are under pressure from the White House to pass the bill unanimously.
There is still time to contact your House representatives. Make sure they hear from you today.
U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
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Catalina Gonzalez | July 1, 2025
At the center of the Republican reconciliation bill that the U.S. Senate just sent back to the House is a renewal of President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was originally set to expire at the end of this fiscal year. Republicans have been working graveyard shifts to force a vote before the July 4th holiday to lock in even bigger tax breaks for the wealthiest five percent of Americans for the next 10 years. To pay for this, as well as increases in immigration enforcement operations, congressional Republicans are proposing an historic $1.7 trillion in cuts to healthcare, food assistance, and clean energy jobs.
Federico Holm | June 30, 2025
Since our last update on June 17, there have been few noteworthy developments regarding Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions, which is consistent with our expectations based on the timing for the consideration and voting of resolutions, as well as the ongoing negotiations on the “one big beautiful bill.”
Alejandro Camacho, Robert L. Glicksman | June 30, 2025
NEPA requires government agencies to use a transparent process with meaningful public participation to consider the potential environmental effects of their actions before committing to them. It is one of the United States’ bedrock environmental protection statutes and has been so widely emulated in other countries that it has become known as the “Magna Carta” of global environmental law. In the U.S., however, NEPA has recently been the subject of withering scrutiny and attack by critics across the political spectrum. Its opponents have called for the narrowing of NEPA’s scope and the “streamlining” of its processes, charging that the Act’s core mandate to “look before you leap” has spun out of control and created unintended and massive obstacles to approval of critical infrastructure.
Bryan Dunning, Federico Holm | June 23, 2025
In a recent post, we highlighted how the Trump administration's executive orders (EOs) boosting the coal industry will likely not accomplish their hopes for “revival,” as the basic economics of coal generation cannot be modified by executive order, despite Trump’s or Lee Zeldin’s desires. What these policies will achieve, ultimately, is releasing coal-fired power plant operators from any obligation not to harm the communities where they operate.
Minor Sinclair | June 18, 2025
Five years ago, our board of directors instituted term limits for its members. This was a major decision for a 22-year-old organization that relied on the ongoing commitment of its five founders, all professors of law. Board members have stepped down while others have joined, and the process of renewal and transition has been healthy for the organization. In this context, we’re thrilled to announce the election of four new members to our growing board of directors — two Member Scholars and two independent members. Through each of their commitments to justice, solidarity, and democracy, they embody the deepest values of our organization.
James Goodwin | June 18, 2025
Over the course of this series, I have explored President Donald’s Trump’s comprehensive effort to build from a scratch a new regulatory system that systematically favors his administration’s anti-regulatory agenda. As part of this campaign, he has issued several executive orders that fundamentally distort the key building blocks that comprise our regulatory system: law, science, economics, and the career civil service. In the earlier posts, I examined the executive orders specifically affecting the first three of those building blocks. In this final post, I examine Trump’s efforts to remake the civil service.
Federico Holm | June 17, 2025
Since our last update on May 27, we have seen a slowdown in developments regarding Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions, which is consistent with Senate timelines for considering and voting on joint resolutions. However, there has been one key development that closes a chapter opened on April 2, when House Republicans decided to use CRA procedures to undo the waivers issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to California.
James Goodwin | June 17, 2025
In the first post of this series, I began detailing President Donald’s Trump’s comprehensive effort to build from a scratch a new regulatory system that systematically favors his administration’s antiregulatory agenda. As I explained, he has issued several executive orders that fundamentally distort the key building blocks that comprise our regulatory system: law; science; economics; and the career civil service. In the first post, I examined the executive orders specifically affecting the “law” building block. In this post, I examine the next two building blocks: science and economics.
Catalina Gonzalez | June 16, 2025
However dispiriting the federal pullback of critical climate funding currently feels, it’s essential to play the long game and continue to develop effective strategies for an ongoing clean energy transition.